Telescoping-type stacker crane

ABSTRACT

A stacker crane comprising a multi-section telescoping or collapsible mast connected for rotation about its vertical axis to the underside of a trolley of an overhead crane and having a load carriage movable vertically along the lower section, power means for moving the respective sections of the mast and the load carriage vertically in a predetermined sequence comprising a flexible member connected to a take-up means at the top of the mast and subsequently reeved about pulley means connected to the upper end of the movable mast sections and the load carriage with the intermediate reaches reeved about pulleys at the top of the mast and having its other end connected to the upper end of the mast.

United States Patent Pamer Oct. 30, 1973 TELESCOPING-TYPE STACKER CRANE[21] Appl. No.: 245,717

Primary Examiner-Even C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerJames L. RowlandAttorneyJames T. Hoffman 57 ABSTRACT A stacker crane comprising amulti-section telescoping or collapsible mast connected for rotationabout 212/128 187/9 its vertical axis to the underside of a trolley ofan over- [5l] Int. Cl. B66C 19/00 head crane and havinga load carriagemovable m [58] Field of Search 187/9, 10, ll; Cally along the owe,section, power means f moving 212/127 128 the respective sections of themast and the load carriage vertically in a predetermined sequencecompris- [56] References (med ing a flexible member connected to atake-up means UNITED STATES PATENTS at the top of the mast andsubsequently reeved about 3,111,227 11/1963 Lofquist 212/128 p y meansconnected to the pp end of the 2,913,226 11/1959 Pritchard 187/9 ablemast sections and the load carriage with the inter- 1,977,815 /1934 Abbe187/11 mediate reaches reeved about pulleys at the top of the 3,414,086l2/l968 Ulinski 187/9 a t and having its other end connected to theupper end of the mast.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures a m FY 26 36 $4, 54, 42 ,54 36 I c 44 I: 5Z lI l6l l ll l52- 5 1 SHEET 2 [IF 2 Fig. 2

TELESCOPING-TYPE STACKER CRANE FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relatesto overhead electric traveling cranes having a downward extending guidefor a vertically movable load carrier.

PRIOR ART Traveling cranes comprising a telescoping or collapsible guideassembly or mast connected to the underside of an overhead movablesupport for a vertically movable load carrier are known. Variousconstructions have been employed for raising and lowering load carriagesand telescoping the respective guide or mast sections, but such priorart devices are generally relatively complex in construction andexpensive to manufacture and/or are not suited for certain operations.In many instances they are unreliable in operation. One of the morecommercially successful cranes of the character to which the presentinvention relates is the subject of US. Pat. No. 3,111,227.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention provides a new and improvedmaterial handling device, simple inconstruction, reliable in operationand having an overhead support to which a telescopic or collapsible mastor guide assembly comprising a plurality of relatively movable mastsections are connected with the top section connected to the overheadsupport and a load carriage movable vertically along the bottom sectionin combination with means for raising the movable mast sectionssequentially from top to bottom and subsequently raising the loadcarriage relative to the bottom section by flexible means connected to atake up device adjacent the upper end of the mast and reevedsequentially about pulleys at the upper ends of the respective movablemast sections, beginning with the uppermost movabe mast section and theload carrier and intermediate pulleys at the top of the mast andterminating at the upper end of the mast.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art to which it relates from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiment made with reference to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view ofa material handling apparatus embodying the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1looking from the right.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The truck wheels 32 ride on thetread portions of the runway rails and support the crane for movementalong the runway rails. A movable support, which in the preferred andillustrated embodiment is a trolley or carrier C, extends between thespaced beams 24, 26 of the bridge B and is movable along the beams 24,26. The carrier C includes a frame 34 having wheels 36 which supportopposite ends of the frame on the horizontal flange portions or treadsof the beams 24, 26. The-carrier C is provided with a motor 40 fordriving one set of the wheels 36 to move the carrier along the beams 24,26.

A vertically extending revolvable mast assembly D is connected to thecarrier C and is movable therewith. The mast assembly D is rotatablysuppended from the frame of the carrier C by a trunnion pin assembly 42,one end of which is secured to the upper frame assembly 44 of the mastassembly and the other end of which is secured to a support assembly 46mounted between transverse members of the frame of the carrier C. Themast assembly is preferably rotated by a motor, not shown, which rotatesa pinion gear 50 in mesh with a bull gear 52 which is suitably securedto the upper frame assembly 44. The frame of the carrier C is providedwith a plurality of rollers 54 which engage the upper side of the upperframe assembly 44 of the revolvable mast assembly to stabilize the mastassembly.

The revolvable mast assembly D includes a plurity of relatively movablemast sections. One of the upper mast sections 60, herein sometimesreferred to as the primary mast or primary mast section, is secured toand extends vertically from the upper frame assembly 44 y and is formedby spaced vertical members 62, 64 con- Referring to the drawings, thepresent invention is shown as embodied in a traveling crane supported ona crane runway formed by spaced rails, one of which is shown at 20. Therunway for the crane may be in an area having rows of bins or shelvesfor storing articles to be handled by the crane.

The crane, designated generally as A, includes a bridge B which spansthe distance between the spaced crane runway and is movable along therunway. The bridge B comprises spaced rail beams 24, 26 that extendtransversely to the runway rails and end trucks 30 connected to oppositeends of the rail beams 24, 26.

stituting the sides of the primary mast section. Another of the mastsections 66, herein sometimes referred to as the secondary mast orsecondary mast section, is operatively connected to the primary mast 60for vertical movement relative to the primary mast and is adapted totelescope over the primary mast. The secondary mast 66 includes spacedvertical members 70, 72, disposed adjacent the opposite sides of theprimary mast outwardly of the members 62, 64, respectively. Each of themembers 70, 72 supports two pairs of wheels 76, 78 and 80, 82 whichengage opposite flanges of the adjacent one of the members 62, 64 toguide the movement of the secondary mast with respect to the primarymast.

The vertical spacing of the pairs of wheels 76, 78 and 80, 82 preventsrocking movement of the secondary mast assembly about a horizontal axiswhen the latter is extended to form an extension of the primary mast.

In addition to the wheels 76, 78, 80, 82, the secondary mast is providedwith rollers 84, 86. which engage the web portion of the members 62, 64of the primary mast to better guide the movement of the secondary mastwith respect to the primary mast.

The mast assembly D functions as a support for a vertically movable loadcarriage E and guides the load carriage in its vertical movement. Theload, carriage D comprises a pair of channel members 90, 92 spacedoutwardly of the members 70, 72 of the second mast, connected togetherby channel members 94, 96, both of which extend transversely oftheprimary and secondary masts. Channel member 94 is preferably weldeddirectly to the spaced channel members 90, 92 and the member 96 ispreferably secured to the spaced chnannel members 90, 92 by spacermembers one of which is welded to each channel member 90, 92 and to oneend of the channel 96. End plates 100, 102, brackets 104, 106, and stops108, 110 are secured to the channel 94 and project below the channelmember. A shaft 114 below and parallel to the channel member 94 extendsthrough aligned apertures in the end plates 100, 102, brackets 104, 106,and stops 108, 110.

The load carriage E is guided in its vertical movement relative to themast assembly D by a plurality of rollers mounted on the load carriagewhich engages the vertical members 70, 72 of the secondary mast 66.These rollers comprise vertically spaced pairs of wheels 120, 122 and124, 126 carried by the channel members 70, 72 of the carriage E andwhich engage the flanges of the members 70, 72 of the secondary mast 66,and a plurality of rollers 130, 132' also carried by the channel members90, 92, respectively, and which engage the web portion of members 70,72.

The vertically movable carriage E carries load engaging mechanism whichengages the material being handled to move the material as desired. Thisload engaging mechanism may be of any suitable nature dictated by thetype of material being handled, for example, a grab, bucket, or hook.The load engaging mechanism shown in the drawings includes a pluralityof fork members 140, some of which are shorter than others as can beseen in FIG. 2, pivotally mounted on shaft 114 for limited movement in aclockwise direction to the position shown in FIG. 2, so that certainfork members which are not being used may be pivoted vertically out ofoperative position. The intermediate fork members are preferablyadjustable lengthwise of the shaft 61 to vary the spacing between thefork members. It is apparent that the fork members at the ends of theshaft 114, being in snug engagement with the sides of end plates 100,102 and adjacent stops 108, 110 cannot be slid on shaft 114, which istrue also of the center fork member.

The load carriage E and the load engaging mechanism, fork members 140,connected thereto are raised and lowered by motor 150 connected to theupper frame assembly 44 and the upper end of primary mast 60. The motor150 drives a pair of sprocket-type pulleys 152, 154 rotatably supportedin the upper end of the primary mast, through suitable gearing 156. Thesecondary mast 66 and the load carrier E are raised and by flexiblemembers or chains 160, 162 trained over the sprockets 152, 154,respectively, then underneath a second pair of sprocket-type pulleys166, 168 rotatably supported in the upper end of the secondary mast 66;then over a third pair of sprockets 170, 172, rotatably supported in theupper end of the primary mast 60; then underneath a fourth pair ofsprockets 174, 176, rotatably supported in the load carriage E, andsecured to brackets 180, 182 welded to the upper end of the primarymast. Rotation of the motor 150 will rotate sprockets 152, 154, and willeither raise or lower a secondary mast 66 and the load carriage'E,depending upon the direction of the rotation of the motor 150. When themotor 150 is operated to raise the secondary mast and the load carriagethe flexible members or chains form loops between the chanels 62, 64 ofthe primary mast. Suitable boxes or guides are utilized to contain andguide the chain loops. A chain guard is provided at the upper end of themast assembly to keep foreign matter from becoming fouled in the chains.

The construction of the load carriage E and the secondary mast 66 aresuch that the weight of the load carriage is greater than that of thesecondary mast so that during initial operation of motor 150 to raisethe load carriage E from its lowermost position the secondary mast andload carriage will move upwardly as a unit relative to the primary mast.After the secondary mast has reached its upper limit of movement upon apart 190 thereof striking the underside of a support bracket 192 for themotor 150 the load carriage moves upwardly relative to the secondrymast. Assuming that the motor 150 is of the constant speed type the loadcarriage will move in an upwardly direction along the secondary mast 66at twice the speed at which the combined secondary mast and load carriermoved until the member 96 on the load carriage engages the member 190.

During the lowering of the load carriage, the load carriage first movesin a downwardly direction relative to the secondary mast until themember 96 engages a member 194 at the lower end of the secondary mast.Thereafter the load carriage and secondary mast move as a unit relativeto the primary mast at half the previous speed until members 200, 202secured to the guide members 70, 72 of the secondary mast engageabutment members 204, 206 secured to the members 62, 64 of the primarymast. If it is desirable to have the load carriage E move at constantspeed throughout its entire travel, this can be readily accomplished bysubstituting a two-speed motor for the single speed motor, referred to,and having the sped of the motor automatically changed to half-speedwhen the secondary mast is at its upper limit of travel as by the use ofa limit switch connected to the underside of the frame assembly 44 andengageable by a part of the secondary mast as the secondary mast reachesits upper limit of travel.

The load carriage and secondary mast as well as the other elements ofthe traveling crane shown are controlled by an operator who rides in anoperators cab F and manipulates controls located on a control panel G.As the secondary mast is raised and lowered the operators cab will alsobe raised and lowered because the operators cab and the control panelare connected to members 190, 194 forming part of the secondary mast.

While the Applicants invention as shown and described in thisspecification is embodied in a power actuated crane, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the Applicants invention maybe constructed so that certain of the powered operations are performedmanually. For example, the hoist motor for elevating the load carriageand the secondary mast may be replaced by a manually operable hoist, ifsuch is deemed desirable. It will also be apparent that wire cables,etc. can be substituted for the flexible sprockettype chains shown andthat the takeup means for the flexible members may be a drum rather thanthe sprocket-type pulleys shown.

' It is also understood that although the Applicant's invention has beendescribed and shown embodied in an overhead traveling crane having arevolvable two section telescopic mast, that the mast may comprise threeor more sections and that the mast may be supported on any movableoverhead support and in material handling devices not having thespecific structure shown and described.

While a preferred form of the invention has been describedinconsiderable detail, it will be apparent that the invention is notlimited to the construction shown or the uses referred to and it is myintention to cover all adaptatons, modifications, and changes which comewithin the practice of those skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates and the scope of the appended I greater weight than said secondmast section operatively connected to said second mast section forvertical movement relative thereto; and flexible means operativelyconnected to said overhead support than successively reeved about pulleymeans connected to said load carrige means, pulley means connected tosaid overhead support, pulley means connected to said second mastsection, and thereafter being connected to a takeup means.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N0.3,768,666 Dated October 30, 1973 Inventor(s) Karl A Pamer It iscertified that error appears in the aboveidentified patent and that saidLettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 2, line 28, change "plurity" to ---plurality;

Col. 4. line 27, change "sped" to --spee.d-.---

Signed and sealed this 23rd day of July 197A.

(SEAL) o Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON, JR. Attesting Officer C. MARSHALL DANN Commissioner ofPatents

1. A device of the class described comprising: a movable overheadsupport; a first mast section secured to said overhead support andextending downwardly therefrom; a second mast section operativelyconnected to said first mast section for vertical movement relativethereto and extendable relative to the lower end of said first mastsection; load carriage means of greater weight than said second mastsection operatively connected to said second mast section for verticalmovement relative thereto; and flexible means operatively connected tosaid overhead support than successively reeved about pulley meansconnected to said load carrige means, pulley means connected to saidoverhead support, pulley means connected to said second mast section,and thereafter being connected to a takeup means.